List $44.95

Written by P.D. James - Audio book performed by Charles Keating - Unabridged Fiction - 11 COMPACT DISCS - 12.5 hours

Publisher, Random House Audiobooks (November 2005)

An Adam Dalgliesh Mystery

Praise for P. D. James:

"A first-rate writer without any qualifying genre tag." —Newsweek

"[James] ought never to be confused with such practitioners of the murder-in-the-vicarage genre as Agatha Christie. She is subtler, more sophisticated, much more adept at creating character and her social conservatism gives her a much darker view of human nature." —Martin Levin, The Globe and Mail

"James’s novels are an escape like no other. . . . Masterful writing." —The Vancouver Sun

"She writes like an angel. Every character is closely drawn. Her atmosphere is unerringly, chillingly convincing. And she manages all this without for a moment slowing down the drive and tension of an exciting mystery." —The Times (UK)

Combe Island off the Cornish coast of England has a bloodstained history of piracy and cruelty. Owned for centuries by the same family, it now serves as a place where over-stressed men and women in positions of high authority can come to find serenity in conditions of guaranteed security. But when one of its distinguished visitors is found hanging from Combe's famous lighthouse, an apparent murder victim, the peace of the island is shattered.

The situation is awkward, demanding exceptional skill and discretion on the part of investigators. Commander Adam Dalgliesh is called in to solve the case. Unfortunately, Dalgliesh himself is distracted, uncertain and deeply worried about his future with Emma Lavenham, the woman he loves; Detective Inspector Kate Miskin is coping with tenacious emotional problems of her own; the ambitious Sergeant Francis Benton-Smith is not happy about having a woman as his superior. Moreover, the team has scarcely begun to unravel the motives of the various suspects before a second brutal killing occurs.

A richly complex tale of crime and passion, The Lighthouse is a deeply satisfying novel, P. D. James at her masterly best. P. D. James is the author of eighteen previous books, most of which have been filmed and broadcast on television in the United States and other countries. She spent thirty years in various departments of the British Civil Service and has served as a magistrate and as a governor of the BBC. In 2000 she celebrated her eightieth birthday and published her autobiography, Time to Be in Earnest. The recipient of many prizes and honors, she was made Baroness James of Holland Park in 1991. She lives in London and Oxford.

About the Performer: Charles Keating has been nominated for a Tony® on Broadway for his work in Loot, and received an Emmy® nomination for his work on Another World. Keating can also be seen in the award-winning Brideshead Revisited, as well as several films, including The Bodyguard, The Thomas Crown Affair, and Awakenings.